■oOth CoNGRESf 

l^^ Session. 



[SENATE.] 



Executive, 
No. 39. 



F 315 
. U575 
Copy 1 



REPORT 

or THE 

COMMISSIONER OF THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE, 



COMMUNICATING 

An abstract of permits granted under the acts for ike armed occu- 

pation of Florida. 



April 28, 1848. 
Kea.;a„a ordered to be p.n.ed, and t^I^OOaMtional eop.es .e prin.d ^o. t,e General 



General Land Office, ^pril 27, 1848 
»ir: in accordance with the dirertinno ir, +v, i - 

■ Senate, of the 3d instant, I have he honor t„tr.nr>'"J'°" "^ "^^ 
abstract or list, marked No 1 "of all L ?™"' ''"''"'">. =>" 
acts for the a^med occup^U ^ of F " id'aTp df""'''' "",'^' ">^ 
columns, the number and date of each n.vU'^ ^ ° = ' '" '''Cerent 
designation of land, number of Notice dare™'so":^"°/„ ""'"^ 
was delivered, whether head of a fan^n J / i ^^^°^ P^^"'^it 

land designated was surveyed, and .vhTn 'and f^l i^'^' "'^^^^" 
by the surveys, and the cases which have been reiectedo ^^^^^"^^/°" 
and the reasons therefor; and when and to wh °r suspended, 

in permits have been sold by tlTe United Sf^t:^'"'^' included 
settlers have availed themseWe^of he f' 'V T"^ '" ^^"' ^^«^« 
also documents marked No 2 o 24 LcWe h •'' ''' '■' ^^^^'" 
instructions for the execution of Jhete Lws Is^le^d ^^^^^P'^^f ^" 

In answer to the last clause of the relolu on T { ^^'M^'^- 
to enclose herewith a copy of the letter from tV' V""" )^' ^^"^^ 
April, 1848, to the chairman of the CmnmiTtlf^S'^.'^'^^^ ^^^^ 
the Senate, with a copy of the bUHW j" r;f:r; d /I^^Jhe^^'^'^ ""' 
nL:st:?J: '' "'^ '^ '---''^ - -comL^rntf'al' -r^fd^ 

I have the honor to remain, very resnepffnll^r ^ . i, ,. 

servant, ' ^ respecttuJly, your obedient 

RICHARD M. YOUNG, 
Hen. George M. Dallas Commissioner. 

President of the Senate. 






39] 



.tiSVF 



No. 2. 



Instructions under the act of Wi August, 1842, entitled " Jin act 
for the armed occupation ajid settlement of the unsettled part of 
the peninsula of East Florida.''^ 

General Land Office, August 25, 1842. 

To the Registers of the Land Offices, 

At St. Augustine and JYewnansville, East Florida: 

Gentlemen: Annexed is a copy of the act of Congress, approved 
on the 4th instant, entitled " An act to provide for the armed occu- 
pation and settlement of the unsc-ttled part of the peninsula of 
East Florida." . 

" Any person being the head of a family, or single man over 
eighteen years of age, able to bear arms, who has made, or shall, 
within one year from and after the passage of this act, make an 
actual settlement within that part of Florida situate and being 
south of the line dividing townships numbers nine and ten, south, 
and east of the base [meridian] line, shall be entitled to one quarter 
section of land," on the conditions prescribed by the law, and 
which conditions are numbered in the act, first, second, third, and 

The first condition is, " that said settler shall obtain, from the 
register of, the land office in the district in which he proposes to 
settle, a permit, describing, as particularly as may be practicable, 
the place where his or her settlement is intended to be made: Pro- 
mded, that no person who shall be- a resident of Florida at the 
time of the passage of this act, who shall be the owner of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land at the time he proposes to settle, shall 
be entitled to a permit from the register." 

As our immediate action in the execution of this law is confined 
to the foregoing provisions contained in its first section, the pre- 
sent directions are restricted to the provisions of that section alone, 
leaving the other portions of the act, which are of prospective 
effect, (requiring certain future acts and proceedings on the part of 
the settler,-) to be subjects of future instructions. 

Your first duty, in executing the law, will be to require from the 
settler who applies for its benefits, a notice in writing, according to 
the following form, blanks for which are herewith furnished: 

Under the provisions of the act of Congress, approved on the 4th day 
of August, A. D. I8i2, entitled ^^ An act to provide for the armed 
occupation and settlement of the unsettled part of the peninsula 
of East Florida'^ — 

To all whom it may concern: 



Notice is hereby given that, under the provisions of the act of 
Congress above cited, I, A. B., do hereby apply to the register of 
the proper land office for a permit to settle upon one hxindred an 
sixty acres of unappropriated public land, lying south of the lin 



d 
me 



^ [39] 

H. dividing townsliips numbered nine and ten, south of the base line 
^ and situated as herein described. * 

^ .1.^/7^ ^^^* ^ ^"'' ^"'^^^ ^ *^"^^* ^^^ *^'^^ ^^«^^ is to he filled^ and 

, that I became a resident of Florida in the month of -— of thp 

^ year . {See note 2.) ; oi ifle 

r» I aver that the settlement herein intended is not " within two 

^ miles of any permanent military post of the United States, estab- 

hshed and garrisoned'' at the time of such settlement, and that the 

• !kTv.'' l^* known or believed to interfere with any private claim 

that has been duly filed with any of the boards of commissioners. 

surveyed or unsurveyed, confirmed or unconfirmed. (See note ZA 

Criven under my hand, this day of , A. D. 184—. 

To the Registkr of the Land Office, 

Jit — J East Florida. 

Note l.--This blank must be filled up in the words of the law. 
according to the circumstances of the case, thus- 

'' '^ M \^^t ""^ ^ family," or " a single man over eighteen years of 
age, able to bear arms." j o «» 

^0T^2—ksi\ve first condition of the first section of the law 
provides " that no person who shall be a resident of Florida at the 
time of the passage of this act, who shall be the owner of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land at the time he proposes to settle, shall 
be entitled to ^permit from the register," it follows that, if the 
date with which this blank is filled shall be on the 4th dav of 
August, 1842, (the day when the act was approved,) the settler 
must accompany his ''notice'^ with some evidence that he is not 
the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land, and that evi- 
dence will have to be his own affidavit, after the following or any 
other equivalent form: ■' 

FORM OF AFFIDAVIT. 

I, A. B., being a settler in Florida, on the 4th August, 1842, and 
being about to apply to the proper authority for the benefit of the 
act of Congress, approved on the day aforesaid, entitled '« An act 
to provide for the armed occupation and settlement of the unsettled 
part of the peninsula of East Florida," do hereby declare, on oath, 
that I am not the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land. 

A. B. 

Sworn and subscribed before me, an acting justice of the peace, 
Sor J^ast Honda, this — day of , A. D. 184—. 

c. b., 

Justice of the Peace. 

Note 3.~In case the land has been surveyed, There insert its 

proper description, as the _ quarter of section number 

m tov/nship number south, of range number east 1 

But, in case the land has not been surveyed, the applicant, in this; 



39] 



6 



ligee under any such sale, agreement, bond, or power to sell, 
transfer, or lien, shall not be entitled to recover back the price or 
consideration paid therefor, but shall forfeit the same absolutely to 
such settler or his heirs." 

The act also declares, "that upon the death of any settler before 
the end of the five years, or before the issuing of the patent, all 
his rights under this' act shall descend to his widow and heirs at 
law, if he leaves a widow, and to his heirs at law if he leaves none, 
to be held and divided by them according to the Ifews of Florida, 
any previous sale or transfer of the same, or of any interest, legal 
or equitable, in the same to the contrary notwithstanding; and 
proof of his compliance with the conditions of this act, up to 
the time of his death, shall be sullicient to eptitle them to the 
patent." 

It is to be distinctly understood that this permit is not designed 
to confer any rights, whereby the live oak and red cedar timber 
abounding on the public lands, shall be interfered with to the de- 
triment of the United States, for whose use such timber is reserved 
and protected by the act of Congress, approved on the 1st March, 
1817, entitled " An act making reservation of certain public lands 
to supply timber for naval purposes." 

Given under my hand at the land office, at this 

day of 184—. 



Register of the Land Office. 

The notices are to be carefully filed in your office; each of them 
to be endorsed with the name of the party, the number of the 
aotice, and referring to the date of the permit thereon issued; the 
number assigned to which must, in every instance, be the same as 
that of the notice. 

You will keep a book to be styled " Docket of Permits granted 

to settlers by the register of the land office at , pursuant 

to the provisions of the act of Congress approved on the 4th August, 
1842, entitled ' An act to provide for the armed occupation and set- 
tlement of Florida,' " and which will be columned off in the fol- 
lowing mode: 

1st column — Number of the Permit. 

2d do. Date of the Permit. 

3d do. Name of settler to whom granted. 

4th do. *Brief reference to the designated location, by regu- 
lar designation of quarter section, township, and 
range; or otherwise, it the land is not surveyed. 

5th do. jNumber of notice filed. 

6th do. -j-Date of notice filed. 

7th do. Name of person to whom the Permit was delivered. 

* As the surveys progress from time to time, and returns thereof is made to your office, you 
v\\\ be enabled to perfect the description in the 4r,h column, by mserting the proper descrip- 
ion in every case whore it cannot be done in the first instance. 

t Should you be under the necessity of rerusing to issue a Permit in any case, you will of 
X)urse enter in this docket, in ihe 5th and 6th columns, only the number and date of the notice 
iled in that particular case and slate the fact of your refusal to grant the Pkrmit, and the 
eosons for such refusal, and wliich reasons are also to be endorsed on the " Notice." • 



7 L 39 ] 

In addition to such docket, it will probubly become necessary to 
keep an alphabetical index of the names of parties filing notices 
for facility of reference. Such index would consist of — 

1st. Name of settler filing notice. 

2d. Number of Permit granted. 

Copies of the notices under which Permits are from time to time 
granted, together with copies of the diagrams accompanying the 
same, will have to be furnished by you to the surveyor general for 
his information, ..and to enable him to give the proper instructions 
to his deputy surveyors. 

Similar copies of the Notices must be furnished to this office at 
the end of each month, &s also certified transcripts from your docket. 

Prior to transmitting such copies, however, you will take the pre- 
caution to compare the same w^ith the originals, with the aid of the 
receiver, and you are requested to attach thereto your joint certifi- 
cate of examination. 

I have to enjoin on you the exercise of every diligence, care, and 
promptitude necessary to a faithful and satisfactory execution oi 
the law. 

I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

THO. H. BLAKE, 

Cemmissioner. 



AN ACT to provide for the armed occnpatioii and settlement of the unsettled part of th( 

peninsula of East Florida. 

jBe it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of thi 
United States of America in Co7igress assembled, That any person, 
being the head of a family, or single man over eighteen years ol 
age, able to bear arms, who has made, or shall, within one yeai 
from and after the passage of this act, make an actual settlement 
within that part of Florida situate and being south of the line di- 
viding townships numbers nine and ten south, and east of the bas( 
line, shall be entitled to one quarter section of said land, on the 
following conditions and stipulations: 

First. That said settler shall obtain from the register of the land 
office, in the district in which he proposes to settle, a permit de- 
scribing, as particularly as may be practicable, the place where his 
or her settlement is intended to be made: Provided, That no per- 
son who shall be a resident of Florida, at the time of the passage 
of this act, who shall be the owner of one hundred and sixty acres 
of land at the time he proposes to settle, shall be entitled to a per- 
mit from the register. 

* Second. That said settler shall reside in the Territory of Florida 
south of said township line, for five consecutive years, and to take 
his grant on any public land south of that township. 

Third. That said settler shall erect thereon a house fit for the 
habitation of man, and shall clear, enclose, and cultivate at leasi 
five acres of said land, and reside thereon for the space of foui 



[39] 



8 



years next following the first year after the date of his permit, if 
he or she shall so long live. 

Fourth. That such settler shall, within one year after the survey 
of said lands, and the opening of the proper office for the entry and 
sale of the same by the United States, prove, before such tribunal, 
and in such manner and form as shall be prescribed by the Com- 
missioner of the Gentral Land Office, with the approval of the Pre- 
sident, the fact that the settlement has been commenced, and the 
particular section upon which it is located; and, also, that such set- 
tler shall, wnthin six months after the expiration of five years from 
the date of his permit, prove, in like manner, the fact of continued 
residence and cultivation, as required in the second and third con- 
ditions herein above prescribed; whereupon, and not until then, a 
patent shall issue to said settler for such quarter section. 

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That in case of the settlement 
of the same quarter section by two or more settlers, the right to the 
location shall be determined by priority of settlement, to be ascer- 
tained under such rules as the Commissioner of the General Land 
Office, with the approval of the Prpsident, may prescribe; and the 
subsequent settler or settlers shall be permitted to locate the quan- 
tity he, she, or they, may be entiled to elsew^herp within the same 
township upon the vacant public lands. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted^ That no right or donation shall' 
be acquired under this act, within two miles of any permanent mili- 
tary post of the United States, established ami garrisoned at the 
time such settlement and residence was commenced. 

Sec. 4. And he it further enacted^ That all sales, gifts, devised, 
agreements, bonds, or powers to sell, transfers, or liens whatsoever, 
private or judicial, of the lands, or any portion thereof, acquired 
by this act, made at any time before patents shall have issued for the 
same, shall be utterly void and without effect, to every intent and 
purpose, whether in law or equity; and the purchaser or obligee, 
under (any) such sale, agreement, bond, or power to sell, transfer, 
or lien, shall not be entitled to recover back the price or conside- 
ration paid therefor, but shall forfeit the same absolutely to such 
settler or his heirs. 

Sec. 5. And he it further enacted^ That upon the death of any 
settler before the end of five years, or before the issuing of the 
patent, all his rights under this act shall descend to his widow and 
heirs at law, if he leaves a widow, and to his heirs 'at law, if he 
leaves none, to be held and divided by them according to the laws 
of Florida; any previous sale or transfer of the same, or of any in- 
terest, legal or equitable, in the same, to the contrary notwithstand- 
ing. And proof of his tompliance with the conditions of this act, 
up to the time of his death, shall be sufficient to entitle them to-the 
patent. 

Sec. 6. And he it further enacted^ That w^here any settlement, by^ 
the erection of a dwelling, or the cultivation of any portion there- 
of, shall be made upon the sixteenth section, before the same shall 
be surveyed, then and in that case, other lands shall be selected by 



9 [ 39 ] 

the School Commissioners of the township, in lieu of said section 
sixteen, or such part thereof as may be claimed under this act. 

Sec. 7. And he it further enacted, That not exceeding two hun- 
dred thousand acres of land shall be taken for settlement under 
this act. 

Sec. 8. And he it further enacted, That the President of the 
United States may, at any time, by proclamation, suspend all 
further permits and settlements, under this act, by giving three 
months notice thereof. 

Sec 9. And he it further enacted, That the Commissioner of the 
General Land Office shall, on or before the 1st day of February, 
eighteen hundred and forty-four, report to Congress the names of 
every individual who shall have made the actual settlement required 
by the first section of this act, specifying the heads of families, and 
the single men, and the location of each quarter section occupied 
by each of said settlers. 

Approved August 4, 1842. 

A true copy from the roll in this office. 

FLETCHER WEBSTER, 

Chief Clerk. 
Department of State, 

August 19, 1842. 



AN ACT 

To establish an additional Land Office in Florida. 

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That so much of 
the public lands of the United States, in the Territory of Florida, as 
lies east of the Suwannee river, and west of the line dividing ranges 
twenty-four and twenty-five, except that lying east of St. Mary's 
river, north of the basis parallel, shall form a new land district, to 
be called the Alachua land district; and, for the sale of the public 
lands within the district aforesaid, there shall be a land office estab- 
lished in the town of Newnansville, in the county of Alachua, in 
the Territory aforesaid. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a register 
and receiver appointed to said office, to superintend the sale of 
the public land in said district, who shall reside at the town of 
Newnansville aforesaid, give security in the same manner and sunis, 
and whose compensation, emoluments, duties, and authorities, shall, 
in every respect, be the same, in relation to lands to be disposed of 
at said office, as are or may be by law provided in relation to the 
registers and receivers of public money in the several offices estab- 
lished for the sale of the public lands. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That all such public lands, 
embraced within the district created by this act, which shall have 
been oflfered for sale to the highest bidder at any land office in said 



[39] 



10 



Territory, pursuant to any proclamation of the President of the 
United States, and which lands remain unsold at the taking effect 
of this act, shall be subject to be entered and sold at private saljB 
by the proper officers of the office hereby created, in the same man- 
ner, and subject to the same terms, and upon like conditions, as the 
sale of said land would have been subject to in the said several 
land offices hereinbefore mentioned, had they remained attached to 
the same. 



Approved, August 30, 1842. 

1 this office. 

FLETCHER \^ 

Chief Clerk. 



true copy from the roll in this office. 

FLETCHER WEBSTER, 



Department of State, 

September 5, 1842. 



No. 3. 

General Land Office 



March 17, 1843. 

Sir: I have the honor to inform you, that I have communicated 
instructions under this date to the register at St. Augustine, Flori- 
da, with a view of avoiding the difficulty complained of in conse- 
quence of the construction of the armed occupation act by the land 
office at St. Augustine, and tlie regulation under it, by which set- 
tlers were required " to have been personally upon the land they 
propose to locate upon before they are permitted to take out per- 
mits." 

This subject is referred to in your communication of the 5th ul- 
timo, and in the letters accompanying it of the 28th January last, 
dated at Charleston, S. C, from Luke Reed, esq. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

THO. H. BLAKE, 



The Hon. David Levy, 



Commissioner. 



Si. Augustine^ Florida. 



No. 4. 



General Land Office, 

March 17, 1843. 

Sir: It appears from your communication of the 20th January 
last, that several applications have been made at your office for 
permits, under the armed occupation act, "by persons who have 
not been on the lands described in their notices." 

You express your ^^ conviction that many abuses might arise from 



11 [39] 

granting permits In such cases;" state that you have " refused to 
issue them" until you "can receive the directions of the depart- 
ment on the subject," and that it has appeared to you " that the 
bona fide settler who has gone into the wilderness, and is there 
making a location, may, from the difficulty of communicating with 
the ottice, be deprived of his rights or unfairly speculated on, 
should others be allowed to obtain permits without personally se- 
lecting the lands they apply for. 

It is necessary for you to interpose every proper means to guard 
against and prevent the abuses which you apprehend, or any others 
likely to occur in operations under the act, and by a faithful and 
rigid execution of your duties, to protect the rights of all bona fide 
applicjints. 

The construction given by you, however, has excited, as I am 
advised, much dissatisfaction, and produced inconvenience to emi- 
grants. 

I have, therefore, in regard to this matter carefully looked into 
the act. The first stipulation of which is to this effect: 

'^ That said settler shall obtain from the register of the land 
office in the district in which he proposes to settle, a permit de- 
scribing as particularly as may be practicable, the place where his 
or her settlement is intended to be made," &c. 

Neither this provision of the law, nor any other section of it, 
appears to render it indispensably pre-requisite to the obtaining of 
a permit, that the appVicunt himself should, in the first i?ista7ice, ac- 
tually go iipon the land he desires to settle. 1 see no objection to 
the, granting of^ a permit, where a bona fide applicant can so far 
satisfy himself as regards the situation, &c., of the land he proposes 
to* settle, as to enable him to file the requisite notice, accompanied 

1st. The applicants own affidavit, showing whether he is " the 
head of a family " or " a single man over eighteen years of age, 
able to bear arms," and the period when he became a resident of 
Florida. 

2d. By evidence, in cases where he became a resident of .Florida 
on the 4th of August, 1842, [the date of the act,] that he is not the 
owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land at the time he pro- 
poses to settle. 

3d. By the affidavit of some creditable witness who, from per- 
sonal knowledge, can make the following oath: " I aver that the 
settlement herein intended is not within two miles of any perma- 
nent military post of the United States, established and garrisoned 
at the time of such settlement, and that the same is not known or 
believed to interfere with any private claim that has been duly 
filed with any of the boards of commissioners, surveyed or unsur- 
veyed, confirmed or unconfirmed." See page second of printed 
instructions, and who can comply with the requirements of note 
three on said page. 

A notice thus supported will be a substantial compliance with 
the law and instructions; the testimony of any creditable witness 



[39] 



13 



in the third requirement above, being quite as satisfactory in ^/zzj 
particular as the affidavit of the applicant himself. 

In adopting this course, as a general rule of action in all such 
cases, the difficulty complained of as to your construction of the 
act will be avoided, and like privileges will be extended to every 
one who may wish to come within its provision. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

THO. H. BLAKE, 

Commissioner. 
Wm. H. Simmons, Esq., • 

Register, St. Augustine, East Florida. 



No. 5. 



General Land Office, 

March 18, 1843. 

Sir: In a communication to me of the 3d ultimo, from A. W. 
"Walker, esq., referring to the armed occupation act, I am advised 
that the " officers of the land office at (St. Augustine) conceive 
that a settlement made by slaves fulfilling all the requisitions of 
the law is not within the meaning of the act, and does not entitle 
their owners to the 160 acres of land offered by government," &c. 
In this view of the matter, I fully concur with the land officers, 
and the register will consequently adhere to this decision in the 
premises. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

THO. H. BLAKE, 

Co?nmissioner. 
Register of the Land Office, 

St. Augustine, Florida. 



No. 6, 



General Land Office, May 1, 1843. 

Sir: I am in receipt of your letters of the 23d and 31st Decem- 
ber last, the former accompanied by the copy of a notice of Arnold 
Thigpin for a permit to settle under the armed occupation act, the 
the latter accompanied by a docket of permits for December., 1842, 
numbered from 1 to 33 inclusive, except No. 6, which is presumed 
to be the case of Thigpin. This letter of the 31st December last 
is also accompanied by copies of notices, from 1 to 33 inclusive, 
excepting also No. 6. 

1. As to the case of Arnold Thigpin: 

This application is for lot 1, in section 23, town 12, range 20, 
lots 3 and 4, in section 24, township 12, range 20, of surveyed lands, 
containing together 163tVo acres. 



13 [ 39 ] 

Under this act, applicants, on certain conditions and stipulations, 
will be entitled t© " one quarter section'^'' of land. According to 
the opinion of a former attorney general, Mr. Taney, '' a quarter 
section of land is a parcel of land, the form and contents of which 
are defined and regulated by act of Congress;" and he said, " I do 
not think that the President can substitute for it other parcels, 
which may be deemed an equivalent in value." (Printed instruc- 
tions, &c., part 2, page 180, No. 118.) And again, in another case, 
same volume instructions, page 183, No. 120: " In my opinion, 
the location made by the governor was not authorized by the act 
of Congress. The words "a quarter section of land,^^ are, I be- 
lieve, never used in any of the acts of Congress to denote merely 
the quantity of 160 acres of land, but are always intended to des- 
cribe a parcel of land containing 160 acres, which has been set 
apart and designated by the proper officer of the government as a 
quarter section, according to the act of Congress prescribing the 
mode of surveying and dividing the public lands," &c. 

Applying this definition of the term " one quarter section" to 
the case of Thigpin, you will perceive that his proposed location is 
inadmissable, and must consequently be rejected, as said location is 
of lots which together do not constitute " a quarter section." 
Each location under the act must be confined to a technical " quar- 
ter section^'' oy fractional " quarter section^'''' and m.ust not be made 
up of portions of two or more quarter sections. 

In regard to locations on land unsurveyed, the locations must, of 
course, be in a square of 160 acres. I regret to find that, in all 
these cases, J ou have overlooked plain and explicit requirements of 
the instructions, and hence it becomes necessary to return herewith 
all the notices for December, with the docket. 

Although at the foot of each form for the notice there is a. pri7ited 
note, contemplating the filing as a part of the notice of " the dia- 
gram of the survey of the land intended to be settled upon," and 
the " statements" in the notice " to be sworn to by the applicant 
before a justice of the peace, and the affidavit tg be endorsed in the 
notice;" and although in the printed instructions, page 2, the form 
of the affidavit is prescribed, yet, according to the copies, not one 
of these notices are sworn to, and there is only a diagram in one 
case (25.) 

Further, in all of these cases, except three, viz: Nos. 21, 25 and 
26, it seems that the applicants w^ere residents of Florida at the 
passage of the armed occupation act of the 4th of August, 1842. 
And in such cases it is required [see page 2 of printed instructions 
and' form of affidavit] that the notices should be accompanied by 
by some evidence that the applicant was not the owner of 160 acres 
of land at the time he proposed to settle.^ which affidavit may be the 
affidavit of the applicant himself. In all cases where the affidavits 
are taken before an officer who does not use a seal, his official char- 
acter must be certified to by the clerk of the court, or other officer, 
under seal, or by the register or receiver, where they have a per- 
sonal knowledge that he is an officer duly authorized at the time. 

I have to ask your special examination and perusal of the in- 



[39 J 



14 



structions, and a strict and uniforin adherence to them in every par- 
ticular^ regretting that such omissions have occurred, superin- 
ducing, as they do, labor and trouble to this office and yours, and 
being productive of delay. 

It is desired that the omission to verify the notices in every case 
by the affidavit of the applicants be supplied, and that the requi- 
site affidavits in every case, where the applicant was a resident of 
Florida on the ^.th of Jlugust, I8i2,m^y also be produced, showing 
that the applicant, at the time he proposed to settle, was not the 
owner of 160 acres of land. 

When the notices are amended in the manner indicated in the 
foregoing, you will make the copies herewith to correspond with 
the originals. 

In the case of John Cwrry, (18,) however, you will perceive that, 
according to the principle laid down in the foregoing as to loca- 
tion, his location of two half quarters (west half northwest quar- 
ter and west half southwest quarter 25, 12 south, 19 east) is inad- 
missible and must be annulled. 

I request that, instead of using dots in the docket, which, it 
seems, are designed to mean ditto, but which might lead to un- 
certainty, you will write out the words intended to be used in each 
place. 

In the column ^of remarks in the docket, you will state in each 
case w hether the applicant is the head of a family, or a single man 
over eighteen years of age, able to bear arms. 

You will also be pleased to be careful in your descriptions, 
where the land selected has been surveyed. 

When the section is fractional, call it so; and insert the position 
of the township, thus: township 12 south, range 19 east. I request 
that you will give your earliest attention to the^e matters, with a 
view to ths immediate perfecting of the papers, and return of the 
same to this office. 

Very respectfullly, your obedient servant, 

THO. H. BLAKE, 
c, TT. „ Commissioner. 

OAMUEL KUSSELL, Esq., 

Register of the Land Office, JVewnansville, Florida. 



No. 7, 



General Land Office, May 1, 1843. 

Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of the 15th ultimo, in which 
you state that "many applications having been made to <your' office 
by females, for permits to take up land under the occupation act 
and the phraseology of the law being somewhat obscure, so as to 
leave it doubtful whether its privileges were designed to be ex- 
tended to this class of emigrants," you request directions on the 
subject. You state further that "the district attorney, Mr. Doug- 
las, to whom ^you' referred in the first instance, inclines to the 



15 [39] 

opinion that the expressions, 'any person being the head of a fa- 
mily,' " were "intended to include this class of applicants, who, in all 
in?tances, have either sons or slaves capable of labor, and therefore 
of bearing arms; but does not feel altogether satisfied of the cor- 
rectness of this interpretation;" and at his recommendation you 
"apply to the department for its decision and direction on the sub- 
ject." 

The first stipulation in the act is "that said settler shall obtain 
from the register of the land office, in the district in which he pro- 
poses to settle, a permit, describing, as particularly as may be prac- 
ticable, the place where his or her settlement is intended to 
be made," &c. Again, in the second section of the said act, after 
referring to cases of settlement of the same quarter section by two 
or more settlers, and providing that the right to location shall be 
determined by priority of settlement, the following language is 
employed: "and the subsequent settler or settlers shall be permitted 
to locate the quantity Ae, she or they may be entitled to elsewhere, 
within the same township, upon vacant public lands," 

The words underscored, in red, in the foregoing, (not italicised, 
however, in the act,) go to sustain the correctness of the inclina- 
tion of the district attorney's opinion, as quoted by you, viz: that 
"the expressions, 'any person being the head of a family,'" were "in- 
tended to include this class of applicants, (females,) who, in all 
instances, have either sons or slaves capable of labor, and therefore 
of bearing arms." Indeed, the underscored words place t'he mat- 
ter, in my opinion, beyond doubt, and you will therefore govern 
yourself accordingly, ifa/cr/i^ care that the testimony is satisfactory^ 
in every application, to bring the case fully up to the requirements 
of this interpretation. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

THO,, H, BLAKE, 

Commissioner. 

W. H. Simmons, Esq., 

Register) St. Augustine, Florida. 



\o. S,. 



General Land Office, May 2, 1843, 

Sir: The second section of the act of Congress, approved August 
4th, 1842, entitled an act "to provide for the armed occupation and 
settlement of the unsettled part of the peninsula of east Florida," 
declares, "that in case of the settlement of the same quarter sec- 
tidn by two or more settlers, the right to the location shall be de- 
termined by priority of settlement, to be ascertained under such 
rules as the Commissioner of the General Land Office, with the ap- 
proval of the President, may prescribe; and ..the subsequent set- 
tler or settlers shall be permitted to locate the quantity he, she or 
they may be entitled to elsewhere, within the same township, upon 
vacant public lands." 



[39] 



16 



On this subject I submit a copy of a letter to me, of the 3d ul- 
timo, from the register at NewnaBSville, and in regard to such cases 
as are contemplated in the second section of the act aforesaid, re- 
spectfully recommend for the "approval of the President" that 
the following "rules" shall govern, in order that the "priority of 
settlement" may "be ascertained." 

1st. That in any "case of the settlement of the same quarter sec- 
tion by two or more settlers," the register shall notify the conflict- 
ing claimants that, at a time and place to be specified by the regis- 
ter, such testimony will be received hy him and the receiver as may 
be presented by the parties interested, going to show the right of 
the claimants to the original location, on the ground of "priority 
of settlement," and that then and there an opportunity will be 
offered to cross-examine witnesses. The witnesses, of course, to 
be duly qualified before a proper officer, before giving in their tes- 
timony. 

2d. That at the expiration of the time that may be stipulated for 
the reception of testimony, and for hearing witnesses, the register 
and receiver shall decide between the parties, and their decision 
shall he jinal^ unless, within three days, an application, in writing, 
be made by the parties interested to the register for an appeal to 
the General Land Office, and, in cases of such appeal, the decision 
of the Commissioner of the General Land Office shall be final. 

3d. That in all cases where the action of the register and receiver 
is final, by reason of no appeal having been taken, they shall cer- 
tify the fact, in -each case, to the General Land Office, and there- 
upon issue a permit or permits to the "subsequent settler or set- 
tlers" to "locate the quantity he, she or they may be entitled to 
elsewhere, within the same township, upon vacant public lands." 

4th. That in all cases where an appeal is taken, the register, and 
receiver shall forthwith report to the General Land Office the whole 
testimony and proceedings, with their decision in the case, and qn 
being advised of the decision of the commissioner on the appeal, 
shall thereupon conform to the same, and issue proper permits to 
the settler or settlers against whose claim to the original location 
a decision may be made. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

THO. PL BLAKE, 

Commissioner. 

Hone J. C. Spencer, 

Secretary of the Treasury. 



Endorsed: 

I approve of the within recommendation, which the Secretary of 
the Treasury will cause to be carried into execution. 

J. TYLER. 



May 6, 1843. 



17 [ 39 ] 

No. 9. 

General Land Office, May 15, 1843. 

Siii: Under the act of Congress of the 4th August, 1842, enti- 
tled an act to " provide for the armed occupation and settlement 
of the unsettled part of the peninsula of East Florida," cases of 
the following description have been submitted to this office. 

1st. The case of W. Clark, stated in his letter herewith, (A,) 
dated the 18th ultimo, at JYewnansville, East Florida, from which 
it appears that he had obtained a permit to settle a tract he had 
selected " in the 'Oclamaha' swamp;" that at the time he selected 
it, " the land was dry, (although low;") that " since the winter 
and spring, however, considerable rain has fallen," and "he has" 
found it impossible to settle the tract with anything like a certainty 
of health, or making crops, should he "cultivate — the river or 
creek overflowing a large portion of the swamp bordering on that 
river," &c. 

Mr. Clark now applies for a change of permit. 
2d. The next case is that of Walter D. Eretson, presented in his 
letter herewith, (B,) dated the 31st ultimo, at St. Augustine, 
Florida, stating that the land which he had " taken up was a pri- 
vate grant," and asking that power be given to the register to 
change his permit. 

In regard to the erroneous entries, or illegal sales of lands. Con- 
gress has expressly delegated authority to the executive, to afford 
relief in specified and enumerated classes of cases. — See act of 3d 
March, 1819; Clark's Comp. Land Laws, page 757; act of 24th 
May, 1824, page 863; act of 12th January, 1825, page 890; act of 
24th May, 1828; acts 1st session 20th Congress, page 108; and, 
in case of " erroneous locations of the warrants of the Canadian 
refugees," acts of 3d March, 1831; acts 2d session 21st Con- 
gress, page 108. 

In the armed occupation act, however, no power, in express 
terms, has been conferred on the department to authorize change of 
location. 

The principle cannot for a moment be recognized or admitted, 
which would allow a location to be changed, either from caprice 
or a desire to get a better tract; but where it should appear, by 
competent and satisfactory testimony to the register, that the land 
first selected was of such a character, either by reason of its total 
inadaptation to the purposes of human support, and of the imprac- 
ticability of a compliance with the conditions of the act as to the 
erection of a house, continuous residence and cultivation, or where 
the land selected is on a " private grant," and the permit absolutely 
invalid on the account, I incline to the opinion that it would be no 
stretch of authority, but, on the contrary, the spirit and intent of 
the armed occupation act (which expires 4th August next) would 
be subserved by allowing a new location. 



[39] 



18 



ri Entertaining, however, some doubt on the subject, the matter is 
submitted for your advice and direction in the premises. 
With great respect, your obedient servant, 

THO. H. BLAKE, 

Commissiofier. 
tJbn. John C, Spencer, 

Secretary of the Treasury. 



No. 10. 



General Land Office, May 21 j 1843. 

Sir: Herewith I enclose a copy of a letter to me of the l8th 
ultimo, from H. E. W. Clark, esq , applying for a change of per- 
mit on account of his selection being in the "Oclamaha" swamp, 
a portion of which it appears is subject to the overflowing of the 
river. 

It has been decided, and the decision sanctioned by the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, that a change of permit cannot be authorized} 
and you will inform Mr. Clarke accordingly. 

Should a selection be inadvertantly made on & private claim^ and 
a permit issued, such a permit would, of course, be a mere nullity. 

In any such case as the latter, the first permit being a nullity, 
you would be authorized, if the applicant came within the purview 
of the armed occupation act, to grant a permit for such public land 
as the law authorizes to be settled. 

When, however, a permit has been issued for a tract alleged to 
be within a. private claim, you will take care, before treating such 
permit as a nullity, to be satisfied of the facts by competent 
testimony. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

THO. H. BLAKE, 

Commissioner. 

Register of the Land Office, 

J^ewnansville, Florida. 

N. B. — Where a permit is invalid on the ground of being a pri- 
vate claim, and one is granted for a tract of public land, there 
should be a reference in the docket for the second permit to the 
previous proceedings, and a similar reference on the back of the 
second notice. 



No. 11. 



General Land Office, May 27, 1843. 

Sir: Herewith 1 enclose a copy of a letter of the 31st ultimo, 
from Walter D. Eretson, esq., representing that he has obtained a 
permit for certain land which is found to be '* on a private grant." 



19 [ 39 ]' 

If it should appear, by competent testimony, that such is the 
fact, the permit is, of course, a nullity ; and, if the applicant comes 
within the purview of the armed occupation act, you will grant 
him a permit for a tract of public land. 

You are requested to make known to Mr. Eretson the substance 
of the foregoing. 

For your information and government, I herewith enclose a copy 
of my letter of this date to the register at Newnansville, having a 
bearing in this case, &c. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

THO. H. BLAKE, 

Commissioner . 
Register of the Land Office, 

St. .Augustine^ Florida. 

W. B. — Where a permit is invalid on the ground above stated, 
and one is granted for a tract of public land, there should be a 
reference in the docket to the second permit to the previous pro- 
ceedings, and a similar reference on the back of the second notice. 

T. H. B. 



No. 12. 



General Land Office, June 29, 1843. 

Gentlemen: In continuation of the instructions in my letter of 
August 5, 1842, under the act of 4th August, 1842, entitled '' An 
act to provide for the armed occupation and settlement of the un- 
settled part ot the peninsula of East Florida." I have on this oc- 
casion to advise you, under the direction of the President, re- 
specting the proceedings to be had next in order, to wit, under the 
fourth condition and stipulation of the first section of the act, in 
the words following: 

" That such settler shall, within one year after the survey of said 
lands, and the opening of the proper office, for the entry and sale 
of the same, by the United States, prove before such tribunal, and 
in such manner and form as shall be prescribed by the Commissioner 
of the General Land Office, with the approval of the President, 
the fact that the settlement has been commenced, and the particular 
quarter section upon which it is located." 

With the approbation of the President, then, the register and re- 
ceivers ^xe. hereby constituted the "tribunal," before which the proof 
is to be made in regard to the cases contemplated by the act. 

With a view, then, to the proper execution of your duties, and 
to facilitate operations under the law, you will observe the follow- 
directions: 

1st. In cases where the land was surveyed at the time of grant- 
ing the permit, the '-'■ year'''' will commence with the day when your 
office was prepared to act under the law; and you are requested to 
issue a public notice^ setting forth such date^ designating the par- 



[ 39 ] 20 

ticular township of land, the plats whereof were filed in your 
office at that date, giving the names of the settlers, respectively, in 
those townships to whom permits have been granted, with the Nos. 
of iheh permits. [See form of notice, marked A.] 

Note. — Copies of such public notices, bearing a regular and con- 
secutive series of numbers, from No. 1, should it be found neces- 
sary to issue more than one, should, from time to time, be forwarded 
to this office; and at the expiration of the year a complete return 
must be made, indicating all the settlers in such townships, who, 
within the year, (the time stipulated,) shall have complied with the 
requirements of law, by showing "the fact that the settlement had 
be^n commenced, and the particular quarter section on which it is 
located," said return should designate the particular quarter sections 
located by the respective settlers, and should also show the names 
of those who may have failed to comply with the requirements of 
the act. (See form of return marked J3.) 

2. In cases where the lands was surveyed at any time subsequent 
to the date aforesaid, you will regard the term of " one year" as 
commencing from the day when the surveyor general shall certify 
the township plat, and from time to time, as such township plats 
shall be received at your office, you will issue a public notice of 
the fact, giving a particular list of such townships, and the particu- 
lar day when the term of one year will expire in each case. (See 
form of this notice, marked C.) 

Note. — It is not necessary to send to this office copies of the 
public notices under this 2d item of instructions, because such 
notices would serve no useful purpose, as they would not exhibit 
the settlers' names. 

It is proper, however, and you are therefore required to make 
monthly returns, consecutively numbered, of such settlers as may, 
from time to time within the " year," meet the requirements of the 
act; those returns also to indicate the JYo. of permit, and the par- 
ticular designation of the quarter section, according to the public 
surveys. (For form of monthly return, see paper D.) 

At the expiration of the year in this class of cases, a complete 
return is also required, similar to that called for in the cases first 
referred to in the foregoing. 

The act provides "that in case of the settlement of the same 
quarter section by two or more settlers, the right to the location 
shall be determined by priority of settlement, to be ascertained 
under such rules as the Commissioner of the General Land Office, 
with the approval of the President, may prescribe; and the subse- 
quent settler or settlers shall be permitted to locate the quantity 
he, she, or they, may be entitled to elsewhere, within the same 
township, upon vacant public lands." 

Cases may arise under this section, where the cultivation by A 
may be found to be precedent to that by B, and the erection of a 
dwelling by B, was precedent to that by A. In such a case, priority 
of cultivation must govern. In cases coming within this provision 
of the law you are required to give a patient hearing to all the 



21 



[39] 



facts to be sustained by credible witnesses, which shall be adduced 
by the contending parties. 

The register and receiver of the appropriate land district having 
been constituted, by the President, "the tribunal," referred to in 
the act, for determining on all claims arising under its provisions, 
it would be desirable that, in all cases of conflicting claims, the par- 
ties should appear before you with their respective witnesses, in 
order to give you an opportunity of cross-examining the witnesses, 
with a view to the more readily eliciting the truth of the case. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

THOMAS H. BLAKE, 

Commissioner. 
Register and Receiver, 

JYewnansvillCj Si. Augustine^ Florida. 



Xfotice to applicants under the Florida armed occupation act of the 
4:th August, 1842, to whom permits have been granted on surveyed 
lands. 

Notice is hereby given to the class of applicants above mentioned, 
who are designated in the enclosed list, that the period of " one 
year^^'' allowed by the said act, for proving the " fact that the set- 
tlement has been commenced, and the particular quarter section in 
which it is located," will expire on the ; that 

being one year from the day on which the register and receiver of 
this office were prepared to act under the law. They are therefore 
hereby requested to file with the register and receiver at 
Florida, on or before the said date, satisfactory proof, pursuant to 
the requirment of law, above mentioned. 

Such proof should be the applicant's own affidavit, corroborated 
by the testimony of two or more disinterested and competent wit- 
nesses, which proof s-hould give all the particulars as to the settle- 
ment, date of its commencement, and description of the particular 
quarter section on which it is made. Unless the proof required in 
the foregoing is filed on or before the date specified, the applicants 
will forfeit all right, title, and claim, to land under their permits. 



No. of permit. 



Date of permit. 



Names of Applicants. 



Qr. Sect'n. 



Township. 



Range. 



Note. — The particulars, as to the settlement, should be the time 
when cultivation was commenced, the kind of crop cultivated, num- 
ber of acres in cultivation, the kind of tenement erected, number 
of persons composing the family, discriminating between adults 
1 i es and females, white and colored. 



[39] 



22 



Land Ofeice at 



day of 



RETURN. 



Under the fourth condition and stipulation of the act of Congress 
of August 4th, 1842, entitled, " An act to provide for the armed 
occupation and settlement of the unsettled part of the peninsula of 
East Florida," exhibiting the names of those settlers who, within 
the term of " one year," prescribed in the condition aforesaid, have 
established, according to law, at this office, " the fact that the set- 
tlement has been commenced, and the particula.r quarter section 
uj^on which it is located." 



No. of 
Permit. 



Names of Settlers. 



Description of Tract. 



Sectional part. No. of Sec, 



No. of Town'p, 



No.of R'^g. 



In case any settlers shall have failed to establish their claims 
within the year, there is ,to be attached to the return a paper, set- 
ting forth the names of such settlers, and numbers of the permit in 
each case. 



C. 

JVotice to applicants under the armed occupation act of the ^ith Au- 
gust ^ 1842, to whom permits were granted for settlement •, on lands 
which were not surveyed at the dates of such permits. 

n 

Notice is hereby given to the class of applicants above mention- 
ed, that the plats of the following described townships have been 
duly certified and returned, by the surveyor general, to the district 

land office at -, and that the period of " one year," alMwed 

by the said act for proving the " fact that the settlement has been 
commenced, and the particular quarter section upon which it is lo- 
cated," will expire at the dates opposite the townships described in 
the annexed list. Those applicants, therefore, whose settlements 
are within any of these townships, are requested to file with the re- 
gister and receiver at , Florida, on or before the said dates, 

satisfactory proof, pursuant to the requirements of the law above- 
mentioned. Such proof should be the applicant's own a:ffidavit, 
corroborated by the testimony of two or more disinterested, compe- 
tent witnesses, which proof should state all the particulars as to 
the settlement, and give the designation of the particular quarter 
section on which it is made. 



23 



1.39] 



Unless the proof required in the foregoing is filed on or before 
the dates specified, the applicants will forfeit all right, title, and 
claim to land under their permits. 



Township. 




Dates on or before which the proof of settlement must be filed, 
and the particular quarter section described. 



Note. — The particulars, as to the settlement, should be the time 
■when cultivation was commenced, the kind of crop cultivated, 
the number of acres in cultivation, the kind of tenement erected, 
number of persons composing the family, discriminating betweeij 
adults and children, males and females, whites and colored. 



D. 



Land Office at 



day of . 

No. — . 

Monthly return of the names of settlers under the act of August 
4th, 1842, entitled, " An act to provide for the armed occupation 
and settlement of the unsettled part of the peninsula of East Flor- 
ida," who have established their claims before this office, prior to 
the expiration of the year, allowed by the terms of said act. 



No. of 
Permit. 



Names of 
Settlers. 



Designation of Tract. 



Sectional part. 



No. of Section. I No. of Township. 



No. of Range. 



No. 13. 

General Land Office, 

July 8, 1843. 

Sir: In your letter of the 19th ultimo, received to-day, you in- 
quire, 

1st. When there are two applicants for the same tract of land, 
and no permit has been issued to either, is it a " case of the set- 
tlement of the same quarter section by two or more settlers within 
the meaning of the act?" 

Answer. The mere circumstance of there being two applicatiom 
for the same tract, does not, of course, imply that settlements have 
actually been made on the land. 

In a case like this, the register and receiver must institute an in- 
quiry, and thus ascertain all the particulars, as to whether set- 
tlements have been made by both applicants on the same land, &c. 
If it should appear that both applicants have settled on the same 



[39] 



24 



land, the register and receiver^ pursuant to the instructions of the 
2d May last, and 29th ultimo, must decide between the parties, and 
act accordingly. 

If one of the parties has made a settlement, and the other not, 
the settler should take precedence. If neither has made settle- 
ment, the applicant who j^r*^ presented his application should take, 
and a permit be issued. If both presented at the same moment of 
time, and all other things are equal, the matter may be decided by 
lot. 

2d. You inquire as follows: " When a permit has been issued to 
onej and another subsequently files an application for the same tract 
on the ground of ' priority of settlement,' is it a case for the de- 
cision of both officers, or of the register alone*?" 

Answer. It is a case for the decision of the regz^^er and receiver. 
[See instructions.] 

3d. You inquire, '* Have we any jurisdiction over claims on un- 
surveyed lands; or rather, before the surveys are legally made and 
returned?" 

Answer. In the affirmative. But care must be taken to require 
the parties in conflict to shew, by satisfactory evidence, that they 
are on the same land, and consequently, that their claims con- 
flict. 

4th. *' When the surveys ' have' been returned, it shall appear 
that, although the exterior lines of the two claims conflict with 
each other, yet the improvements are on different quarter sections, 
■will it be a case of the settlement of the same quarter section, 

&C.'?" 

I do not understand how a case like this can arise, if the settle- 
ments are on different quarter sections. I do not see how the ex- 
terior lines of those quarters can conflict. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

T. J. BLAKE, 



'J 
Commissioner. 



John Parsons, Esq., 

Receiver, Jfewnansville, Florida. 



No. 14. 



General Land Office, August 21, 1843.. 

Sir: Herewith, I enclose a list, marked A., of certain permits 
that have been issued at St. Augustine, Florida, under the Florida 
armed act of the 4th of August, 1842, to individuals to settle on 
certain islands or keys on the Florida coast. 

One of these permits is to settle on Boca Chico, the others are all 
for settlements on Key Largo. , 

Under a letter from your department, of the 21st September, 1842, 
indicating the opinion that "Cedar keys, and other islands near the 
coastj should be held in reservation," all the keys on the coast of 



35 



[39] 



Florida have been regarded by this office as reserved; and as there- 
fore not subject to the operation of the act above mentioned. As 
the permits mentioned in the foregoing, however, have been issued, 
I deem it proper to ask advice as to whether the two islands men- 
tioned are still reserved; and if not, at what period they were re- 
leased from reservation. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

THOMAS H. BLAKE, 

Commissioner. 
Hon. James M. Porter, 
Secretary of War. 



A.' 

Description of certain permits that have been issued under the armed 
. occupation act of the 4tth of August^ 1842, for settlements on 
islands on the Florida coast. 



No. 


Date. 


Name. 

* 


127 


May 16, 1843 


*Henry Geigor. 
fPhilip P. Barker. 
fWilliam Lowe. 
fJohn Lowe. 
fWilliam H. Bethell. 
fSamuel Kemp, 
f George Curry, 
f John Curry, 
f John Puke. 


136 


May 20, 1843 


137. ..;. 
139. ... 


May 20, 1843 

May 20, 1843 


140 


May 20, 1843 


141 


May 20, 1843 


142 


June 17, 1843 


143 


June 17, 1843 


144 


June 17, 1843 







• On the east end of an island, Boca Chico. 
t On the western part of an island, Key Largo. 



\, 



No. 15, 



General Land Office, October 7, 1843. 

Sir: Herewith, I enclose a list, marked A., of certain permits 
that have been is.«ued at Newnansville, Florida, under the Florida 
armed occupation act of the 4th August, 1842, to individuals to 
settle on certain islands or keys on the Florida coast. 

Under a letter from your department, of thef 21st September, 
1842, indicating the opinion that " Cedar keys and other islands 



[ 39 ] m 

near the coast, should be held in reservation," all the keys on the 
coast of Florida have been regarded by this office as reserved, and 
as therefore not subject to the operation of the act above mention- 
ed. As the permits mentioned in the enclosed, however, have been 
issued, I deem it proper to ask your advice, as to whether the islands 
mentioned are still reserved; and if not, at what period they were 
released from reservation. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

THOMAS H. BLAKE, 

Commissioner. 
Hon. James M. Porter, 
Secretary of War, 



List of permits for settlements on keys or islands. 



No. 



25 
142 

188 
203 
347 
412 
483 
537 
538 
727 
728 
734 
832 
858 
922 
923 
934 
935 
936 



Names of settlers. 



Thomas H. Paruns 
John E. Johnson . . 
Samuel Johnson. . . 
John Waterston. ., 
Augustus Steele. . . 

Henry Kelly 

Samuel H. Walkup 
Chris. B. Lynch . . 
Owen Carrigan . . . 

A. P. Walk 

William Crawford 
John J. U. Weise 
Eliza S. Crews. . 
Jacob Holbrook. 
Tho. J. Kearney 
Samuel Cosby . . 
Theodore Thorp 
Lemuel Dexter. . 
John Park 



Location. 



Near Cedar keys, " on a small key." 

On Wry key. 

Sea-Horse key — one of the Cedar keys. 

North key do do 

Depot key do do 

Snake key do do 

Prier island. 

Belknap island — one of the Cedar keys. 

Scale key do do 

Black island. 

Pine island. 

Island at the mouth of the Withlacoochee. 

Boca Grande. 

Bradford's island. 

Mullet key. 

Egment key. 

Boca Grande. 

Boca Grande. 

Boca Grande. 



No. 16. 



General Land Office, 



June 26, 1844. 



Gentlemen: Herewith I send an act of Congress, approved the 
15th instant, entitled "An act to amend an act entitled an act to 



m [39] 

provide for the armed occupation and settlement of the unsettled 
part of the peninsula of Florida." 

To the provisions of this act, which are clear and explicit, I in- 
vite your careful attention. 

By the first section authority is given to the Commissioner of the 
General Land Office to permit a change of any location made under 
the act of the 4th of August, 1842, on lands discovered after the 
issue of the permit to be liable to overflow, ^^provided application 
for permission to change" shall have been made at the proper land 
office "before" the 4th of August, 1843. 

You are requested to report, for the decision of this office, all 
such appT.cations, each accompanied by the testimony submitted in 
support of it, indicating the tract originally located, and the one 
applied for in lieu thereof, with your joint opinion in the case. 

By the second section it is provided that in all cases of settle- 
ment, under the act of 1842, "upon land not surveyed before the 
issue of permit, the settler may, after survey, locate his quarter 
section in any legal subdivision of continuous or contiguous sec- 
tions, or fractional sections, so as to make up the quantity" of 160 
acres as near "as may be, and to include improvements, and as much 
of the lands described in his permit as is consistent with the sys- 
tem of the public surveys." 

You will take care that this provision of law is properly and 
faithfully carried into effect, having due regard to compactness of 
form in location^ so far as is consistent with the law and the rights 
of the settlers under it. 

By the third section of the act you will observe that the require- 
ments of actual residence, by the act of 1842, on the tract located 
under it, is only dispensed with in cases where the land upon which 
the habitation may be erected shall be entered and paid for, if in 
morket, or, if not in market, shall he so entered within three 
months after it shall have been offered at public sale. 

In all cases, then, where the habitation may be erected on a tract 
other than that under the permit, and the purchase is not made of 
the tract embracing said habitation, as required by this act, the 
claimant will forfeit all right under the act of 1842. 

The fourth section provides "that, in any case in which the title 
of the United States to the land, or any part of it, not less than 
forty acres, described in the permit," or "contained in the quarter 
section upon which he shall have located, shall prove to be defec- 
tive," a tract of equal quality "to that of which the title shall 
have proved deficient as aforesaid, may be located elsewhere upon 
vacant surveyed land within the same township, or within the 
nearest township in which there shall be a sufficient quantity .of 
vacant arable land." 

In all applications for the benefit of this section of the law, you 
will require satisfactory evidence to be filed in your office, 
showing the tract claimed, and the nature and extent of in- 
terfering titles, and on the papers (proof, &c.) you will endorse 
your decision, and designate thereon the tract allowed to be located. 



[39] 



28 



in lieu of that to which the title of the United States may be de- 
fective. 

You will also require the permit to be surrendered in such cases, 
and will note thereon your decision in brief, and also the descrip- 
tion of the tract taken in lieu of the land embraced by the United 
States defective title, as aforesaid. You will also report an ab- 
stract of all cases admitted by you under this section of the law, 
showing the particulars in each case. 

The fifth section needs no elucidation or comment, only requiring 
care and attention on your part, and a proper return to this office 
of any proceedings under it. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

THOMAS H. BLAKE, 
Commissioner, 

Register and Receiver, 

at St. Augustine^ E. Florida. 



No. 17. 



General Land Office, 

August 1, 1844. 
Sir: I am in the receipt of your letter of the 20th ultimo, pro- 
pounding certain interrogatories relative to the requirements of the 
armed occupation act, and the act amendatory thereof, approved 
15th June last, to which I reply in the order in which they occur. 

1. Will settlers on unsurveyed land be aWowed to retain it, as 
originally located, after it has been surveyed? 

Answer. The settler must make his location conform to the lines 
of the public surveys, and may take his "quarter section in any 
legal subdivision of continuous or contiguous sections or fractional 
sections, so as to make up the quantity" of 160 acres, as near "as 
may be, and to include his improvements, and as much of the land 
described in his permit as is consistent with the system of the 
public survey." 

2. Has an act passed amendatory of the armed occupation act of 
the 4th August, l842j if so, send you a copyl 

Answer. There has, approved as above indicated. This office is 
in possession of no surplus copies, and consequently cannot send 
you one. 

3. In case you should die (on a voyage which you contemplate 
taking to Europe) before the expiration of the act, "will the land 
fall to your family?" 

Answer. The fifth section of the act of 4th August, 1842, pro- 
vides "that, upon the death of any settler before the end of five 
years," all his rights under the law "shall descend to his widow 
and heirs at law, upon proof of hi^ compliance with the conditions 
of the act up to the time of his death." Of the practicability of 
adducing such proof, in the event of your dying under the circum- 
stances referred to, you can judge. 



29 [ 39 ] 

4. Is it competent for the settler to perfect his title to his land 
immediately^ upon his paying for it at the rate of $1 25 per acre"? 

Answer. After the iWidJms been surveyed^ and the proper re- 
ceiver is prepared to receive the moneys, of which due public no- 
tice will be given, the land embraced by the permit may be entered, 
upon proof of compliance with the requirements of the act up to 
the date of his application to make the payment being adduced. 

5. Are settlers now relieved from the necessity of residing upon 
the land described in their permits? 

Answer. The third section of the act of the 15th June last, be- 
fore referred to, provides "that the settlers under said act (of 4th 
August, 1842,) may erect their dwellings, and reside upon other 
than the quarter section described in their permit: Provided^ The 
land upon which they so erect their habitation shall be entered and 
paid for by them, if in market; or, if not in market, shall be so 
entered within three months after it shall have been offered at 
public sale. And provided also^ That the condition of cultivation 
on the land described in the permit shall be faithfully complied 
with, according to the terms of the act, to which this is amend- 
ment." In all cases, then, where the habitation may be erected on 
a tract other than that located under the permit, and the purchase 
is not made of the tract embracing said habitation, as required by 
said act, the claimant will forfeit all right under the act of 1842. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

THO. H. ^LAKE, 

Commissioner. 

Mr. J. C. Dalwig, 

Care of Messrs. Merle, Bergle & Co., 

J^ew Orleans., Louisiana. 



No. 18. 



General Land Office, 

August 28, 1844. 

Sir: I am in the receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, con- 
taining the following query, relative to the requirements of the 3d 
section of the act, approved the 15th of June, 1844, amendatory of 
the armed occupation act, viz: "where a dwelling is already erected, 
and the settler takes possession and continues to occupy and cul- 
tivate the land, will (it) be sufficient for the settler to hold the 
land?" 

If I understand the purport of your inquiry, it is, whether it is 
necessary that the dwelling so occupied shall have been erected 
subsequent to the passage of the act, and whether, in the event of 
his removing to a house previously erected, the settler will be ex- 
cluded from a participation in the benefits of the armed occupation 
act. ( 

The settler is presumed to have resided upon the tract embraced 



[39 J 



30 



by his permit, up to the I5th of June last, (the date of the passage 
of the act,) and if he elects to reside upon another quarter sectioHj 
it is a matter of no consequence token the h^se was erected. The 
settler should bear this in mind, however, that in all cases where 
the habitation may be erected on a tract other than that located un- 
der the permit, and the purchase is not made of the tract embracing 
said habitation, as required by the act above referred to, the claim- 
ant will forfeit all right under the act of 4:th of August^ 1842. 
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

TRO. H. BLAKE, 

Commissioner. 
Mr. P. MooDT^, 

Fort King, E. Florida . 



No. 19. 

General Land Office, 

August 19, 1845. 

Sir: In reply to your letter of the 20th ultimo, you are advised 
that if, under the provisions of the 3d section of the act of 15th of 
June, 1844, amendatory of the late armed occupation act of 4th of 
August, 1842, a« settler erects his dwelling and resides upon the 
quarter section described in his permit, and fails to enter it within 
the time prescribed by said act, he forfeits all claim under the act 
of 1842. 

No oath is required of him upon removing his habitation from his 
location, nor is he restricted in his removal to the same township. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JNO. M. MOORE, 
Acting Commissioner. 

Mr. Jamas A. Boyd, 

Hickstown, Benton cc.^ E. Florida. 



No. 20. 



General Land Office, 

August 19, 1845. 

Sir: In reply to the inquiry contained in your letter of the 7th 
ultimo, you are advised that the intention of the third section of 
the act of 15th of June, 1844, amendatory of the act of 4th of Au- 
gust, 1842, appears not to have been to preclude the class of sett- 
lers therein referred to, from entering the tract upon which their 
habitations may be erected, prior to the date on which the township 
in which it is situated is to be oflfered, but to bestow that privilege 
with the additional and anomalous one of permission to enter it at 
any time within the period of three months after the date of offer- 



31 [ 39 ] 

ing. Hence you will perceive the necessity for guarding, as far as 
practicable, against offering any such tract at public sale. To ac- 
complish this, you are instructed to insert the subjoined notice in 
the St. Augustine Herald, once a week for six weeks, and have one 
hundred and fifty copies thereof struck off" in a handbill form, 
which you will please have conveyed into the settlements, as occa- 
sion may off"er to do so, free of expense. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JNO. M. MOORE, 
Acting Commissioner. 
Register of the Land Office, 

^ewnansville, E. Florida. 

Public JYotice. 

It having been decided that settlers, under the act of 4th of Au- 
gust, 1842, coming within the purview of the third section of the 
act of 15th June, 1844, amendatory thereof, may enter the tract 
upon which their habitation is erected, where it is other than that 
embraced by their permit, is surveyed and yet unoff"ered, at any time 
prior to the day of public sale, to guard against its being then sold, 
proof is hereby required to be made, to the satisfaction of the regis- 
ter and receiver, before the commencement of the sales, showing 
the tract so occupied. If not entered within three months after the 
public sale, the right to enter such tract will not only be forfeited, 
but that embraced by their permit also. 

The sale of the townships proclaimed to be off'ered in August next 
has been postponed until the 5th of January, 1846. 



No. 21. 



General Land Office, 
August 25, 1845. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 
of the 4th instant, enclosing one from Colonel H. W, Braden, 
(herewith returned.) 

Cblonel Braden states that, in many instances, the tract upon 
which settlers under the armed occupation act have erected their 
habitations, under the provisions of the 3d section of the amenda- 
tory act of 15th June, 1844, is in townships, the sectional lines of 
which may never be run, in consequence of there not being a suf- 
ficiency of good land in them to justify it, and hence, unless the 
settler be permitted to enter such tracts at once, or in its unsur- 
veyed state, he will not only forfeit his right to this tract, but also 
to the one embraced by his permit, should he ever abandon the 
former. 

As the laws regulating the land system only permit the entry of 
land after it has been surveyed, this office cannot authorize any to 
be made before survey. The armed occupation act guaranties to 



[39] 



32 



the settler a patent, upon a compliance with its several provisions 
and requirements, after the expiration of five years. 

The land will necessarily have then to be surveyed, if it had not 
been previously. If, during this period, he shall have resided upon 
unsurveyed lands, no forfeiture of the tract embraced by his permit 
takes place, because he had not entered that which was not sub- 
ject to entry, because it was unsurveyed. Colonel Braden inti- 
mates that this construction implies an apparent variance between 
the 3d and the spirit of the 5th sections of the act of 15th June, 
1844, above referred toj inasmuch as the latter makes it competent 
for the settler to perfect his title to the quarter section located and 
described in the permit, by paying for it at the rate of $1 25 per 
acre, &c., before the expiration of the five years. 

The words a quarter section are never used in any of the acts of 
Congress, to denote merely the quantity of 160 acres, but are al- 
ways intended to describe a parcel of land containing 160 acres, 
which has been set apart and designated by the proper officer of the 
government as a quarter section. Land, consequently, cannot be 
entered under the 5th section of the act, until it has been surveyed. 

Colonel Braden is further informed that, according to the con- 
struction of this office of the 2d section of the act of the 15th June, 
1844, contiguous sixteenths of sections, or forty acre tracts, are 
subject to location. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JNO. M. MOORE, 



Hon. James D. Wkstcott, 

Tallahasse, Florida. 



Acting Commissioner. 



No. 22. 



General Land Office, 

January 22, 1846. 

Sir: I am in the receipt of your letter of the 9th instant, making 
certain inquiries in relation to the provisions of the armed occupa- 
tion act of 4th August, 1842, and the act amendatory thereof, ap- 
proved 15th June, 1844. 

In reply to those having reference to the case of Mr. Branch, I 
have to state that, upon examination, I find he proved up his claim 
under the 4th proviso of the 1st section of the original act, in Au- 
gust, 1844, to the northeast quarter, 35 21 18. This location can- 
not he changed. You state that, under the amendatory act he re- 
moved to other lands than that described in his permit, and that 
subsequently he became dissatisfied with this location, and now de- 
sires to know whether he can make another removal without for- 
feiture of his original location under his permit; "provided he com- 
plies with the act relative to his donation." 



33 [ 39 ] 



The removal here referred to I understand as referring to that of 
residence. 

As Mr. Branch was advised on the 11th ultimo, under the 3d 
section of the amendatory act of 15th June, 1844, a settler may 
erect his dwelling, and reside upon other than the quarter section 
described in his permit, provided the land upon which he so erects 
his habitation shall be entered and paid for by him if in market, or 
if not in market, shall be so entered within three months after it 
shall have been offered at public sale. Failing thus to enter, he 
incurs a forfeiture of the land described in his permit. If, there- 
fore, the land upon which he removed his habitation was in market j 
he has forfeited the tract embraced by his permit, as it appears he 
did not enter it. If it was surveyed, and not in market, he is al- 
lowed until three months after the public sale to enter it. If it was 
not surveyed it was not in market, and consequently cannot be en- 
tered; no forfeiture can therefore be incurred. In the case of re- 
sidence upon lands in market, no change is admissible, as the tract 
must be entered immediately. 

Where the residence is upon surveyed lands not yet in market, 
no change of such residence is prohibited up to the day of public 
sale, provided that, before it is offered, proof to the satisfaction of 
the register and receiver, showing the tract upon which his resi- 
dence is situated, in order that they may withhold it from sale. 

No forfeiture can take place in consequence of change of resi- 
dence upon unsurveyed lands. 

In reply to your other inquiry, you are advised that no right can 
accrue to any one under the original act, who did ftot, prior to the 
passage of the amendatory act, reside upon the land embraced by 
his permit. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAMES SHIELDS, 

Corninissio7ier. 

Mr. A. Clark, 

Augusta^ Benton co., E. Florida. 



No. 23. 



General Land Office, 

June 6, 1846. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of two letters 
left by you at this office from H. W. Braden, herewith returned. 

In reply, I have to state that the register and receiver at New- 
nansville have heretofore been instructed from this- office, relative 
to their action, under the armed occupation act, and the act of 
June 15', 1844, amending said act. Mr. Braden requests to be in- 
formed what form of notice is required, in order that lands occu- 
pied by settlers, under the provisions of the 3d section of the 
amendatory act, may be withheld from sale. No particular form 
of notice is required. Proof is required to be made to the satisfac- 
3 



[ 39 ] 34 

tion of the register and receiver, before the commencement of the 
sales, showing the tract so occupied. 

In relation to this subject, and in compliance with the request of 
Mr. Braden, I herewith enclose a copy of a letter from this office 
to the register, dated August 19, 1845; also, a public notice sent 
at the same time. 

The register is undoubtedly correct in the opinion, that settlers, 
in order to be entitled to the benefit of the armed occupation act, 
must reside upon the tract described in their permit, or upon the 
tract claimed under the amendatory act. 

The provisions of the original act are, " that said settlers shall 
erect thereon a house fit for the habitation of man, and shall clear, 
enclose, and cultivate at least five acres of said land, and reside 
thereon for the space of four years next following the first year 
after the date of his permit, if he (or she) shall so long live." 

The amendatory act only alters the above provisions by giving the 
settler the privilege of erecting his dwelling and residing upon 
other than the quarter section described in his permit, and that 
only with the condition that the cultivation on the land described 
in his permit shall be faithfully complied with according to the 
terms of the original act. 

Under the provisions of the 3d section of the amendatory act, 
settlers are entitled to erect their dwellings, reside upon, and enter 
any legal subdivision other than the tract described in their permit, 
and necessarily need not be either continuous or contiguous. 
With great respect, your obedient servant, 

JAMES H. PIPER, 
Acting Commissioner. 

Honorable J. D. Westcott, 

United States Senate. 



No. 24. 



General Land Office, 

March 30, 1848. 

Gentlemen: Under the act of 4th August, 1842, entitled "An 
act to provide for the armed occupation and settlement of the un- 
settled part of the peninsula of East Florida," and the act amenda- 
tory thereof, approved 15th June, 1844, those settlers who, in ac- 
cordance with the conditions and stipulations mentioned in the for- 
mer act, have obtained permits, which have been confirmed by this 
office, and have proved the fact of the commencement of their set- 
tlements within one year after the survey of the land, shall be en- 
titled to certificates for the land embraced thereby on complying 
with the following regulations, to wit: 

First. Each of such settlers shall prove, by the affidavits of two 
disinterested witnesses, and support the same by his own affidavit, 
that he had cleared, enclosed, and cultivated at least five acres of 



35 [ 39 ] 

the land embraced by his permit, and continue to cultivate the same 
for five consecutive years, from and after the commencement of his 
settlement under his permit. 

Second. He shall also prove in like manner, that he had erected 
a house fit for habitation of man, and had resided upon the land, 
embraced by his permit, for the space of four years next following 
the first year after the date of his permitj or, if he erected his 
dwelling and resided upon other land than that described in his 
permit, .south of the line dividing townships nine and ten south, 
and east of the base line, he shall enter and pay for the land on 
which he resided, if in market, if he has not already done so, be- 
fore he can receive a certificate for the land embraced by his per- 
mit. He shall also prove that he resided on the land covered by 
his permit to the 15th June, 1844, when the amendatory act was 
passed. 

Third. When a settler shall have died before the expiration of 
five years from the commencement of his settlement, proof of his 
compliance with the requirements of the law, up to the time of his 
death, as specified in the first and second of these regulations, shall 
entitle his widow and heirs to the land, if he left a widow, and if 
not, his heirs at law shall be entitled thereto, to be held and di- 
vided by them according to the laws of Florida. 

Fourth. The proof required by these regulations may be taken 
before you or a justice of the peace duly commissioned and qualified, 
or a notary public; but if before either of the latter officers they 
shall certify as to the character, age, and credibility of the wit- 
nesses, the fact that such magistrate was duly commissioned and 
qualified at the time of taking the depositions shall be certified by 
the clerk of the court under seal, and the notary shall attest his 
acts by his seal. 

Fifth. Where a permit was issued and settlement made on the 
lands covered thereby before these lands were surveyed, the settler 
can take the quantity of one hundred and sixty acres of land by 
continuous or contiguous subdivisions, so as to include his improve- 
ments and as much of the land described in his permit as is con- 
sistent with the system of the public surveys. Where a permit was 
issued, and settlement made after the survey of those lands, the set- 
tler will be restricted to the particular quarter section covered by 
his permit. 

Sixth. In either of the foregoing cases when the same tract may 
be claimed by two or more settlers, the right shall be determined 
by priority of settlement, that is to say, the settler who first im- 
jyroved the tract in controversy shall be entitled to it, and the set- 
tler or settlers who made the subsequent improvements shall be 
permitted to locate the like quantities elsewhere, in the same town- 
ship, upon vacant public lands. 

Seventh. Where a settlement or improvement was made upon the 
sixteenth section before the survey of it, the settler is entitled to the 
portion claimed by him under this act; and the school commission- 
ers of the townships are authorized to select other lands in lieu 
thereof. 



[39] 



36 



Eighth. Where a settler, under the armed occupation act, shall 
have made the proof required by these instructions, and it is found 
that the title of the United States to a portion, not less than forty 
acres, of the land covered by his permit is defective, he can locate 
the quantity, the title of which is thus found defective, as near as 
may be, by legal subdivisions, upon vacant surveyed land within 
the same township, or within the nearest townships in which there 
shall be sufficient vacant arable land. 

JVinth. In all cases where settlers, under the armed occupation 
act, have been prevented from making the proof required by the law 
bywant of these instructions, ample time, not exceeding six months 
from the date of the receipt hereof, shall be allowed them for so 
doing. 

Tenth. In those cases where settlers cannot now make the proof 
required by the law, because the lands covered by their permits 
have not been surveyed, they will be allowed six months, after the 
return of the surveys, in which to do so. Notice of the receipt of 
the townships' plats, in all such cases, should be given, by sending 
a note of the fact to some resident of the township, with a request 
that the settlers may be advised thereof, and by publishing such 
notice in a paper of the most extensive circulation among the set- 
tlers. 

Eleventh. As all sales, gifts, devises, bonds, or powers to sell, 
transfers, or liens, whatsoever, private or judicial, of the lands, or 
any portion thereof, embraced by these laws, made at any time be- 
fore patents shall have issued for the same, are declared, by the 
act of 1842, to be utterly void and without effect, to every intent 
and purpose, whether in law or equity; you will pay no attention 
to any such documents, nor will you entertain any claim which 
may be based upon them. 

Twelfth. You will please have an extract from these instructions, 
commencing from the first regulation, and ending with the sentence 
above this, published three times in one newspaper of the greatest 
circulation among the settlers interested; and. as a means of further 
notifying them, hand-bills have been prepared containing the same, 
four bundles of which I send you, each containing fifty copies, to 
which you will please give the most extensive circulation among 
the settlers, without cost to the government, by having them affixed 
to the doors of the court-houses, &c. 

Thirteenth. You will not include the certificates issued for these 
grants in your regular returns; but the register, with each monthly 
return, will make special report of them in a separate abstract, or 
below his regular abstract, giving the numbers of the certificates, 
beginning with No. 1 and the number of the permit, the name of 
the settler, date of settlement, date of proof, and description of 
the tract. You will please endorse your decision on the proofs 
filed in support of each claim; and when you allow it, you will for- 
ward the testimony thus endorsed with the certificate issued for 
such claim. 

Fourteenth. When you reject a case, you will retain all the 
papers among the archives of your office, endorsed in full, the rea- 



37 



[39] 



sons for your decision. Should the claimant appeal, you will for- 
ward the testimony, thus endorsed, for the consideration of this; 
office, with full report of all the facts which may have come to 
your knowledge. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

RICHARD M. YOUNG, 

Commissioner. 

Register and Receiver, 

J^ewnansville^ Florida. 



General Land Office, April 12, 1848. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your com- 
munication of the 10th instant, enclosing the draft of a bill "for 
the relief of the hona fide settlers under the acts for the occupation 
and settlement of a part of the Territory of Florida," which has 
been examined, as requested by you, and a new draft prepared, 
considerably abridging it, but retaining its general provisions. 

Mr. Westcoft, who takes a deep interest in this matter, has ex- 
amined the last draft, and entirely concurs in the amendments pro- 
posed by it. Both the drafts are enclosed. 

In relation to the provisions of this bill, I have the honor to state 
that, when the act of August 4, 1842, was passed, defining the 
boundaries of a district in Florida, in which grants would be made 
of a quarter section of land to each head of a family and single 
man over twenty-one years of age capable of bearing arms, on the 
condition therein mentioned, a great part of that district was al- 
most entirely unknown, without settlements, and unsurveyed. 

There were few or no roads, and no mail facilities or other me- 
dium of communication. Much of the country was an impassable 
swamp; and, during the last few years, the heavy and continued 
rains have almost broken up all travel in the southern part of Flo- 
rida, and materially retarded the progress of the public surveys. 
In addition to these difficulties, which are formidable enough, many 
of the settlers were in the neighborhood of a bloodthirsty and 
treacherous foe, who would have taken advantage of the absence of 
the settlers, in all probability, to destroy their helpless families, 
and break up their improvements. Under these circumstances, the 
only matter of surprise is, that so many of these settlers complied 
with the stipulations, conditions, and restrictions of the act of 
1842. In the course of a year or two, some of these difficulties 
were manifested, and, to remedy those then known, the act of 15th 
June, 1844, was passed. Under these acts, many of the settlers 
will be able to secure their lands; but there are others equally 
meritorious, who have done as much, and probably more, to accom- 
plish the object intended by the act of 1842, and prevent further 
Indian hostilities in Florida, who, from the causes before mentioned, 
have not been able to comply with all the requirements of these 
acts, and the regulations under them, imposed by the instructions 



[39] 



38 



of this office. Some of the lands claimed by these settlers have 
already been sold, and there are mmy others which will also pass 
into other hands, unless some liberal provision, like that of the 
proposed bill, should be made by Congress. In view of all the 
facts in the case, and the service rendered by these settlers to the 
country, I am of opinion that such provision would be just and 
proper. 

A call was made, on the 3d instant, for detailed information in 
relation to these permits, which will be ready in eight or ten days, 
and with it will be sent, as required, copies of all the instructions 
issued from this office, at different periods, in relation to the execu- 
tion of these acts, and w'hich will, 1 think, manifest the justice and 
necessity of the proposed law. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

RICHARD M. YOUNG, 

Coinmissioner. 

Hon. S. Breese, 

Chairman Com. Pub. Lands, Senate, U. S. 



A BILL for the relief of the bona jide settlers, under the acts for 
the armed occupation and settlement of a part of the Territory 
of Florida. 

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That in 
all cases in which proof shall be made, to the satisfaction of the 
Commissioner of the General Land Office, that any person w'ho ob- 
tained a permit under the act entitled "an act to provide for the 
armed occupation and settlement of the unsettled part of the pen- 
insula of east Florida," approved August 4th, 1842, and who was 
an occupant under that act, and the act amendatory thereof, ap- 
proved June 15th, 1844^ and who actually occupied or settled under 
said acts, and did not voluntarily relinquish and abandon the same, 
but continued to reside on said frontier, therebv aiding to effect the 
object of said acts, and who has not received the lands provided by 
said acts, such settler shall be entitled to a grant and patent for the 
land so occupied or settled by him, the same as if ^11 the conditions 
and stipulations of said acts and requirements of the General Land 
Office, in relation thereto, had been fully and strictly fulfilled and 
complied with. 

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted. That in all cases where the 
lands settled or occupied by such settler, or any part thereof, have 
been subsequently sold by the United States, or shall have been in- 
cluded in a military reservation, or ascertained to be covered by 
a valid private claim, or included in a claim, and awarded to an- 
othej settler having prior right thereto, to be decided by said Com- 
missioner of the General Land Office, then such settler may locate 
his right, or the part so interfered with, on any vacant public 
lands in the same, or any adjacent township. 

Sec. 3. Ajid be it further enacted, That this act shall extend to 



39 [ 39 ] 

and be construed and executed for the benefit of the widow and 
heirs of any settler, according to the principles of the fifth section 
of said first above recited act. 

Sec. 4. And he it further enacted^ That, immediately after the 
passage of this act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall appoint an 
agent to proceed forthwith to the different county seats, of the 
counties of the State of Florida, where said lands lie, who shall 
attend at least ten successive days at each county seat to take and 
receive proof, by depositions before him, or in such manner as he 
may prescribe in relation to such settlement or occupation, and of 
settlers being entitled, under this act, to a grant or donation of 
land as aforesaid; and said agent shall also attend at such other 
places in said settlements as the convenience of such settlers, in 
furnishing their proof, may demand, under the instructions of the 
General Land OflEice, and said agent shall, within five months after 
he shall commence his duties in said State, transmit all the proof 
he may take, and make report of his opinion as to each case, to 
said Commissioner of the General Land Office, who shall proceed 
forthwith to examine and decide said cases; pro"<»ided, if any settler 
does not submit his proof to such agent within four months after 
reasonable notice, by advertisement of the times and places of his 
attendance to receive such proof, said settler shall not have the 
benefit of this act; and all the cases reported as aforesaid shall be 
definitely decided by the Commissioner of the General Land Office 
within two months after the report thereof is received at his of- 
fice, and said agent shall be allowed the same compensation as is 
allowed by law to examining agents of the Treasury Department. 



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